Why the Right to Read campaign?

The ability to read for meaning is the skill upon which almost all other academic skills are  built, including mathematics. If learners have not mastered the ability to read for meaning by the age of 10 (grade 4) they will continue to fall further behind, even as they are promoted into higher grades . 

According to the 2021 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 81% of South African grade 4 learners cannot read for meaning in any language. This is up from the 78% in 2016.  While the South African education system has seen some improvements in learner results since PIRLS 2006, recent trajectories predict that it will take more than 80 years before 95% of grade 4 learners are able to read for meaning. 

There is a literacy crisis in South Africa. The inability of the majority of our learners to read for meaning is not only an indicator of a system failing to provide all of the inputs necessary to give children a reasonable opportunity to learn to read for meaning but is the infringement of their right to basic education.

We need urgent and concerted efforts to catch up lost ground and address the literacy crisis. In order to create an enabling environment for children to learn to read we must focus on ensuring access to the  fundamentals, including providing all learners with quality learning materials, clear guidelines on time allocation in the classroom, building teachers' capacity to teach reading, and regular  assessments to measure progress. We call these the 4Ts.